Since the DC Universe began on screen, there have been various examples of post-credit scenes failing to pay off what was set up. While not the first movie to utilize a post-credit scene, 2008's Iron Man and the birth of the MCU began the trend of using them to set up future installments in a franchise. With the nature of comic book movies today, it was no surprise when DC began using this same feature in their movies.

However, the DC franchise has had a troublesome history in film, especially in the way of creating a shared universe. With the then-titled DCEU beginning in 2013 before having a tumultuous run all the way until the reveal of James Gunn's DCU, there have been plenty of DC post-credit scenes that failed to capitalize on what they teased. That being said, here is every one of these DC post-credit letdowns, what they teased at, and why they did not come to fruition.

Sinestro’s Villainous Turn Was Teased In Green Lantern

Sinestro as a Yellow Lantern in Green Lantern (2011)

One of the earlier DC post-credit scenes was in 2011's Green Lantern. The film featured Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan who joins the Green Lantern Corps. An alien named Sinestro was the Corps' leader. The film following the origins of both Hal and Sinestro fairly closely, in that Sinestro was Hal's mentor initially before later going on to become a major DC Comics supervillain.

At the end of Green Lantern, Sinestro is shown donning a yellow ring as opposed to a green one. This sets up his eventual turn to villainy later in the franchise, which would have been explored in a sequel to Green Lantern. However, given that the movie was both a critical and commercial failure, DC opted to cancel the franchise in favor of focusing on the DCEU beginning with Man of Steel in 2013. This meant that Sinestro's end-credit scene amounted to nothing, with DC films going in a different direction.

Suicide Squad 2016 Teases Suicide Squad Vs. Justice League

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne in Suicide Squad

In 2016, the DCEU's third film was Suicide Squad. The film centered on the titular group, also known as Task Force X, and their adventure in the newly-formed DCEU under Amanda Waller. In the film's post-credit sequence, Amanda Waller is shown meeting with Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne, who appeared in the 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In the scene, Wayne warns Waller to shut down Task Force X, before stating that if she does not, he and "his friends" will do it for her.

This was the second major hint at the formation of the Justice League in the DCEU after Batman v Superman and also set up that team clashing with the Suicide Squad. As Wayne does not approve of Waller's methods, the threat brought about the idea that the Justice League would eventually stop Task Force X. However, this plan again never came to fruition, with the Suicide Squad being soft-rebooted by James Gunn in 2021.

Justice League 2017 Set Up The Legion Of Doom

With Justice League marking the fifth installment of the DCEU, more elements were set up for future movies. Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor was arrested at the end of Batman v Superman, and his character was revealed to have broken out and in touch with Deathstroke by the end of Justice League. The post-credit sequence for that film showed the two meeting aboard Luthor's yacht, which set up the Legion of Doom appearing in the DCEU at some point in the future.

Related: Snyder's Legion of Doom Plan Would've Massively Changed Batman & Flash

Although, as was the case with Suicide Squad's set up of future Justice League appearances, the ramifications of Whedon's 2017 Justice League led to massive changes to the titular team, its characters, and eventually the direction of DC as a whole. This meant that the teases for the Legion of Doom facing the Justice League at some point in the DCEU's future did not come to light, especially given the complete reboot of the series by James Gunn beginning with "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters."

Shazam! Set Up Mister Mind As Shazam 2's Villain

Shazam and Mister Mind

One of the more critically-acclaimed DCEU releases was 2019's Shazam!. The film focused on a kid named Billy Batson who gains superpowers after uttering the word "shazam." The film's villain was Dr. Thaddeus Sivana who, in the film's mid-credit scene, is shown to be imprisoned. During his incarceration, he is approached by a talking caterpillar.

This caterpillar is the DC Comics villain Mister Mind, who was seemingly set up as the sequel's villain. However, the release of Shazam! Fury of the Gods revealed that the Daughters of Atlas were the villains of the film, rather than Mister Mind. Mister Mind appeared again in the end-credit sequence of Shazam! 2, seemingly hinting at a future for the character. Yet with Gunn's DC reboot on the horizon, and Shazam! 2 drastically underperforming at the box office, it is unlikely these scenes are paid off.

Wonder Woman 1984’s Lynda Carter Appearance As Asteria

Lynda Carter headshot superimposed over an image of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman

The sequel to 2017's Wonder Woman came in 2020: Wonder Woman 1984. The film focused on Diana's further exploits as Wonder Woman in 1984, coming face-to-face with DC villains such as Cheetah and Maxwell Lord. One MacGuffin of Wonder Woman 1984 is the armor of Asteria, the Amazons' greatest warrior. At the end of the film, Diana dons the armor and defeats the villains, with the post-credit sequence linking to Asteria.

In the post-credit scene, Asteria is shown to be alive and secretly helping the citizens of Earth in the 1980s, played by none other than Lynda Carter herself. As with the majority of films on this list, it is unlikely that the version of Wonder Woman found in the DCEU will continue into James Gunn's DCU, especially with Paradise Lost, a series about the Amazons confirmed for Chapter 1 of Gunn's plans. Due to this, Carter's appearance as Asteria has not paid off anywhere and is unlikely to be resurrected in the future.

Related: 1984's Original Wonder Woman Cameo Means Lynda Carter Exists On 3 DC Earths

Zack Snyder’s Justice League’s Epilogue

martian manhunter in zack snyders justice league

Given the troubles that plagued the development of 2017's Justice League, Warner Bros. eventually released Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max. This film was the four hour, original cut of the filmmaker's vision for Justice League before he exited directing duties, with Joss Whedon directing the remainder of what became the 2017 film. Due to the drastic change in tone and direction Snyder initially had planned, Zack Snyder's Justice League sets up very different things to the 2017 version.

While not a typical end-credit sequence, Zack Snyder's Justice League features a lengthy epilogue as a way of letting viewers know what Snyder originally had planned for the DCEU. These included a Nightmare sequence - first set up in Batman v Superman - and a scene in which Bruce Wayne meets Martian Manhunter. Given that the DC Universe has transitioned into what James Gunn has planned, neither of these epilogue scenes will see any payoff, meaning they exist as former relics of what the DCEU could have been.

Black Adam’s Henry Cavill Superman Cameo

Black Adam and Superman

The final end-credit sequence that will not go anywhere in the future DC Universe is Henry Cavill's long-awaited cameo as Superman in 2022's Black Adam. The end-credit scene showed Superman confronting the titular Black Adam, saying they "need to talk" after the world became worried about Black Adam's existence. This followed up on a promise from Dwayne Johnson and Henry Cavill that the latter's portrayal of Superman would continue into the new age of the DC Universe.

However, only weeks after the film's release and Cavill's announcement that he would once again be playing the character, Warner Bros. announced James Gunn's soft-reboot of the DCEU throwing Cavill's involvement into doubt. It was subsequently revealed that Gunn would write Superman: Legacy scheduled for release in 2025 with someone other than Cavill in the title role. The Rock has since announced that Black Adam is not part of Gunn's immediate plans, making 2022's post-credit scene of Black Adam another case of a DC Universe movie that promised more than could be delivered.

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